[Smrtman5]

In my oppinion, a mill and a lathe are the two most useful and versitile machines in a shop. They cover the two basic shapes, round and square, and with some skill can be used to make or modify close to any part (any part our team has ever needed). Dont forget about befriending people who own machine shops, you can never go wrong with that!
Btw, I would be very interested to see pictures of your tool carts or know what tools, other than the basics, you guys take to the competitions. I usually end up packing the day before and my forgetfulness almost put us in a bad spot a time or two. And our 'tool cart' looks more like roll behind lugage anyway.